CMU wrestling loses to Indiana in down to the wire matchup
With Central Michigan wrestling down six against Indiana and in desperate need for a match win, redshirt freshman Luke Cochran stepped up to the mat in only his second career dual match.
After the score was tied at two late in the third period, Cochran came up with a takedown to give him the 5-2 victory. The win kept the Chippewas within striking distance, going into the final match down, 16-13.
In the next match, redshirt junior Brian Caves defeated No. 22 Jacob Bullock to get McGuirk Arena loud and tie the team score at 16. However, the match came down to combined points scored where the Hooisers had the edge, 59-51, giving them the 17-16 victory on Friday.
“Those last two guys (Cochran and Caves) had really, really big wins for themselves,” head coach Ben Bennett said. “That's gonna help their confidence a lot.”
The Chippewas move to 0-1 on the season.
The match marked the debut of the new head coach, Bennett, who worked under former head coach Tom Borrelli as an assistant.
The Chippewas were without key wrestlers Tyler Swiderski (165) and Mason Shrader (149) in the matchup.
“We had two guys who we feel like are going to really make an impact in our program this year, and neither of those two guys wrestled,” Bennett said. “We're looking forward to getting those guys back in the lineup.”
Due to the absences, CMU had three freshman wrestlers competing in their first dual matches of their collegiate careers.
“We had guys step up and fill in and wrestle,” Bennett said. “We got some depth, and we got competition, and these guys are pushing each other.”
The Chippewas dropped the first two matches after redshirt freshman Kaden Chinavare fell 8-2 in his first dual of his collegiate career. Redshirt junior Sean Spidle got down early in the 133 match, causing him to fall 12-6.
Spidle moves to 3-2 overall this season, competing in a new weight class after wrestling in the 125 weight class the year before.
The struggles continued for CMU when redshirt freshman Kellan Aure fell to redshirt sophomore Henry Porter, 8-3 in the 141 match, giving the Hoosiers the 9-0 lead.
In his first dual of his college career, freshman Nick Blackburn looked to put the Chippewas on the board. With the score tied at one with under a minute remaining in the third period, Blackburn secured a takedown to give him the 4-1 advantage late into the match. That was how the match ended, cutting the Hoosier deficit to six.
“To do that as a true freshman, up a weight class, and actually go out there and get it done and win, I think it says a lot about his composure, being able to handle the situation,” Bennett said. “We had a situation where we needed him, and he stepped up.”
No. 18 Johnny Lovett kept the momentum going for CMU in the 157 weight class. Lovett went on the attack early against No. 28 Bryce Lowery, however he was unable to connect for a takedown in the first two periods.
Lovett finally got his first takedown in the final period to give him the 5-0 lead late. He went on to win 7-1 to give the Chippewas back-to-back decision victories to push the score to 9-6. Lovett moved to 4-1 overall on the season.
After redshirt junior Chandler Amaker fell to No. 12 Tyler Lillard by major decision, No. 21 Alex Cramer jumped out to the 7-2 lead in the 174 weight class to give the Chippewas some momentum back. He continued to dominate throughout the match to get the major decision victory 12-3, continuing his perfect 5-0 start to the season.
“Those are the guys that are really, really close to breaking through to be All-Americans,” Ben Bennett said about Cramer and Lovett. “They were both right there last year. And I think they both feel like they can be on the podium. And so those are the guys that everyone else on the team are going to follow.”
Redshirt junior Adrien Cramer fell 7-2 in the 184 match to extend the Hoosiers lead to 16-10 with two matches remaining.
After going down 1-0 early in the second period of the 197 match, Cochran came up with a huge reversal to give him the 2-1 lead. He went on to win 5-2.
Coming into the matchup, Cochran was pinned twice by the same opponent in the previous year.
“When you're wrestling a kid who's pinned you twice in the first period, you can go into that match kind of scared and nervous and worried about what's going to happen,” Bennett said. “And he just went out there and competed and kept himself in the match and gave himself a chance to win the match. And I think it just shows the work he's put in and the commitment he's made.”
With the meet on the line, Brian Caves (285) got out to a fast start, securing a 3-0 lead in the first period. Caves secured a last second takedown to give him the 7-2 decision victory, tying the team score at 16.
“Brian's matured a lot,” Bennett said. “And the biggest thing for him was just mentally getting himself in the right frame of mind and really believing in his abilities… (When) you've never beaten the guy, the duel's on the line, that's a lot of pressure for anyone, and he's just continued to improve.”
However, the Hoosiers scored more total points to give them the 17-16 tiebreaker victory.
The Chippewas will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Keystone Classic, starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24.
